Miramax has announced that on January 22nd it will offer its 1999 release “Guinevere” for download for $3.49 for a 24-hour viewing license. The movie will be approximately 500 MB and will take about 30 minutes to download over a high-speed Internet connection.

According to reports, Miramax Films signed a deal in April 2000 with SightSound.com to offer 12 full-length feature films on the Web. As part of the deal, SightSound will provide encryption and will use Microsoft's video compression technology to shrink the computer files to a smaller size.

SightSound is reporting that the film will play in near-DVD quality and full-screen on home computers. In addition, the license will only work on the computer that the file was downloaded ti and the film will be rendered useless after the license expires.

JOEL'S OPINION
I'm glad that this technology is finally moving forward. I actually predicted something like this in my 2001 predictions.

I'll have to remember to give this download a shot on January 22nd. It sounds like it's going to be pretty cool technology and I'd love to be among the first to give it a go. Of course, SightSound is already offering other films and shows for pay-per-download, but this is going to be a 500 MB feature film in near DVD-quality.

While I'm intrigued with the concept of being able to download a film in 30 minutes, I'm not so sure I want to sit in front of my 17″ monitor for 1.5 hours watching a movie. Let's hope that if Miramax can do this over the 'Net, cable companies will soon start offering this ability for our televisions, too.

I just checked out the movie over at IMDB. Too bad it couldn't have been something with a sci-fi slant.

One more thing: anybody know whether or not the licensing technology that SightSound uses has been cracked yet?

No way I could download 500 meg on my 640/640 DSL in 30 minutes. - by Godflesh

???(10:29am EST Thu Jan 18 2001)Want this to take off – get economical!

Not only is it easier to walk into the local video store and grab this movie in thirty [seconds], it's cheaper [$1.99] and I get 5 DAYS to watch it.

This is akin to ebooks that cost more than print (and have added built in restrictions).

In each case we are expected to gobble up something that is more expensive and less convenient because it is what, the next cool thing?

There is a legacy model to compete with. Do it already!

- by Joe Schmoe

1st generation of an idea(10:45am EST Thu Jan 18 2001)Give it some time they could turn this idea in to something. Stretch your imaginations. come on are you a Geek or what?

The in aviator, the dreamer… a Geek.- by Time

This sounds crap to me(10:45am EST Thu Jan 18 2001)I can see that this could be very useful in the future and does show how technology has moved on. But to be honest can you see anyone downloading a crap 500mb movie?I think in theory it could be good but in practice it is crap!most of us have a connection speed of 56k, some may have faster. There is no way that this can work - by supersonic

What a load of bollocks!(10:59am EST Thu Jan 18 2001)$3.49 for a 24-hour DivX;) video rental? Blow me! I can go to Blockbuster and rent the same film on VHS for 5 days for about the same money, take less time to do it (it's about a 5-minute drive from home), *and* burn a DivX;) version of it that I can keep forever.

Plus the film sucked, according to everyone I know who's seen it. - by Icesnake Frostfyre

$3.49 is a bad deal(11:08am EST Thu Jan 18 2001)Another case of technolgy marching on but prices staying the same. Oh wait, I forgot, it's only hardware prices that drop over time. I'll wait for someone to encode it so I can download it for free and play it on “WinTV” (imaginary, yet-to-be-released video version of WinAmp.) - by spud boy

small note…(11:37am EST Thu Jan 18 2001)as a side note, spud boy, sorry, the name WinTV is already taken – it's the name of a TV tuner card created by Hauppauge (using one as I speak, good card, but locks up sometimes though when opening or closing it grrr). - by Whatistocome

Thumbs down(11:59am EST Thu Jan 18 2001)Even for those of us that have the internet speed to make it possible, they'd have to offer wider selection, lower prices, and longer license to begin to compete with the dvd rental shop a block down the road. - by Robguy

Bets, anyone?(12:13pm EST Thu Jan 18 2001)Anyone wanna bet the protection scheme is cracked within a couple hours of the first release?

Anyone else wanna bet that the movie is already downloadable from your favorite warez site in a non-protected DivX format? (Jeese, they had Cast Away in DivX almost a week before it hit the theatres…) - by Anonymous

downloading 500 meg(1:33pm EST Thu Jan 18 2001)I have a cable modem. It is deffinately possible to download 500 megs in 30 to 60 minutes. You just better hope the other end can dish it out fast. I think I would much rather go rent a movie from the store though. - by blah

already done(1:53pm EST Thu Jan 18 2001)I just finished watching “Little Nicky” on my computer, it took about 800MB space, and was decent quality. There is a large amount of people trading current release movies in DivX format or VCD Format on the internet. If I could watch current release movies for $3.50 each, I would do that rather than going to the theatre. But, who wants to watch a 2 year old movie when it is already on HBO by that point.

Do we have to use the crappy Windows Media Player 7 to watch it, or will the 6.4 version, which is resizable and faster, play it also? Can I use Real Player to play it? Do I have to install IE 5.5 on my 98 lite system to watch it? Tell us more! - by Zaph1

I dunno, sounds ok to me …(2:13pm EST Thu Jan 18 2001)Actually, I have to admit there are possibilities here. Some of us might trade the drive to the video store for the convenience of staying home, even if it is a bit more expensive to use the modem (around here, that price is about what Block Buzzer charges). And the download could be set to run over night. I haven't looked real hard at cable modems (I tend to learn what I need), but do they require your PC to be on all the time (some sort of high speed setup)? If so, use the time when people are sleeping to make the PC something other than a hacker target. Maybe it can watch the movies itself and get smarter (am I flashing on 2001 or short circuit)? - by Eh

Watch Pay Per View(2:31pm EST Thu Jan 18 2001)This is a stupid idea. Come on. I can watch a movie now on Pay Per View and record it on a VHS tape and keep it forever. Or I can go to the video store rent a DVD movie and watch it on my much larger tv screen. I've tried watching a DVD on the computer and it blows! I would rather relax on the couch than sit in front of my computer trying to watch a movie. Besides I only have a dial-up connection as do most people and even if I did have broadband access I still would not bother with this stupid idea. - by groovy

And don't some video cards have TV out …(2:58pm EST Thu Jan 18 2001)I meant to ask, don't some video cards have TV out? Why are we tied to the monitor (mind you, I don't have TV out, and like I said before, I tend to learn only what need)? Like Groovy, I only have dial up (faster may be offered soon by my University), but maybe I could have the thing download all night (to everyone's irritation). By the way, Pay Per View is on their schedule, this movie download would be on demand. I think y'all are missing the particular charecteristics that make this attractive (i.e. on demand and you don't leave home twice to pick it up and return it). I bike past an expensive Block Buster nightly, and rent movies from the grocery store when I shop weekly, but I can still see some advantages to downloads, especially if the selection were extensive and up to date. Well, re-reading the above I see some of you have either echoed what I say or are already on board. But for the rest, don't miss the forest for the Gump (bad joke). - by Eh

Why not for sale?(3:46pm EST Thu Jan 18 2001)Mirimax should charge $8 and give you unlimited viewing. That way, you can still pay a small amount, and watch the movie as much as you like – legally. $3.49 for 24 hours doesn't cut it. What's with all these restrictions? - by Kirk

Another Non-Geek Decision(4:57pm EST Thu Jan 18 2001)This looks like another attempt by some desk jockey that has no clue about any new technology to thrust their B&M business into the 21st century. In theory it sounds OK, downloading Pay-per-View instead of paying for it with cable TV. It gives you a better quality image maybe. But in the real world of warez, DivX, and CD burners it's just not a practical money making decision. Even with a cable modem, TV-out and, and a healthy love of new technology I wouldn't do this more then once as an experiment. I'd still rather go to the Mom and Pop video rental down the street that just started stocking DVDs or let the cable company slap another $3.50 on the bill for Pay-per-View.

IMHO, of course . . . - by incubus0

Cable or DSL(7:11pm EST Thu Jan 18 2001)This is only for people that have Cable or DSL connections to the internet. So go for it all you tech heads. It will be 10 years before everyone else is up to par. I wonder if this will ever make money or will it be in that same box with PETS.COM. - by Rax

movie download(7:24pm EST Thu Jan 18 2001)

no it's not, because PPV only has a few movies available per month while this is “Video on Demand”

Soon you will be able to order any movie online and withing minutes you will be able to watch it (streaming or download)

sounds nice, but $3.49 too high(7:25pm EST Thu Jan 18 2001)come on, you don't get anything tangible, why do you have to pay $3.49 for it??

for example, offers audible books to download. You can either purchase the book to download for full price OR subscribe to the service and for $10 a month get two books, even if they're each $100 books or they're hours long (they have 20+ hours books), you still get them for only $10.

But how can they charge only $10 for $100 books??? Easy, you don't get anything but a computer file. They don't have to pay for printing, distrubing, a store or some snot-nosed 16-year-old $5.25 an hour to ring up your book, it's all done automatically, instantly over the internet.

See, that's how this should be done, they should charge like maybe 10 cents for this movie and watch millions of people download it instead of the few thousand they're gonna get.

same with CDs, you should be able to download high quality mp3s from cdnow.com for like 10 cents a song.

hopefully someday the rest of the content providing world will follow audible.com's example, but until then we're gonna have to put up with this BS - by i am god

Geeks shouldn't equal dummies. (6:25am EST Fri Jan 19 2001)CRAP, just another way to get screwed. For the same price (even more if you calculate time, bandith and ratio of your internet service provider). You can rent better quality at the videostore and see it on your big TV screen for more then one days. You can even bring it to your friends and watch it with them.

This is just another case of saying “this is cool high-tech stuff” but in fact you can do less with it. Just like your future music players will be when “sdmi” compliant, you will be able to do less then with your regular tape recorder but at 3x the price. And what about hard drives with “CPRM”.

Protection schemes go one way (their way). And you? Well what do you think? You give your hard earned money and bend over as a bonus. BOYCOT BOYCOT BOYCOT.. If they dont selll it, they will bring a better deal. When vidostores will be replaced by online rental, you can be sure that prices will go up, and will stay that way with no way back. Just like CD's compared to LP's and it cost less to produce. Its not because it's technology that it is cool. - by Mr.Hat

Maybe if it was Star Wars…(2:43pm EST Fri Jan 19 2001)I'd do it for a preview of Star Wars or the Matrix 2 or even something that had some hype. If I even wanted to see Guinever or whatever the hell it's called I'd que it on netflix - by pirate

heh(4:45pm EST Sat Jan 20 2001)gee, i rather just download a divx, pay nothing, and THEN keep it forever :) - by haha

you suck donky balls(6:29pm EST Thu May 24 2001)geek.com is for ass ramers, all you so called geeks need to get your ass out of your chairs and get a life, that doesn't require looking at a computer sceen 23 hours a day. most of all Joel - by you suck donky balls

get a lyfe fuckin geeks(12:36am EST Wed Jul 11 2001)my mom is goin to buy me computer because the internet's economy is goin down 7.5 percent - by fag

for gods sake(6:21pm EST Wed Oct 30 2002)where on the new can i download the guyver the full film, i saw it as a behn and have been trying to track it down for weeks! if anyone can help please email me or something ” tellazz@hotmail.com nice one cheers - by dj tinwa

for gods sake(6:21pm EST Wed Oct 30 2002)where on the new can i download the guyver the full film, i saw it as a behn and have been trying to track it down for weeks! if anyone can help please email me or something ” tellazz@hotmail.com nice one cheers - by dj_tinwa

for gods sake(6:21pm EST Wed Oct 30 2002)where on the new can i download the guyver the full film, i saw it as a behn and have been trying to track it down for weeks! if anyone can help please email me or something ” teelazz@hotmail.com nice one cheers - by dj_tinwa

for gods sake(6:21pm EST Wed Oct 30 2002)where on the new can i download the guyver the full film, i saw it as a behn and have been trying to track it down for weeks! if anyone can help please email me or something ” teelazz@hotmail.com nice one cheers - by tiny

DivX format(7:25pm EST Thu Jan 02 2003)The new streaming technology is called .divx and will only play in DivX player version 1 (version 2 will not play it).

It has overlay protection, and detects any capture codecs that activate.

The player connects to the website to get authorisation before allowing playback so amending your PC clock will have no effect.

I am currently playing around with a .divx file to see if it is possible to extract a capture of it. So far all my attempts have proved worthless.

Snagit or Camtasia will not touch these files when they play as you cannot disable the hardware acceleration to disable the video overlay.

I am pretty sure though in time someone will 'create' a cool little package that eats the protection on these files and then its yours forever. They idea is you delete them when they are done with, but heck… stuff em on a CD until someone brings out a 'hack' for the format.

As for the 22nd of Jan being the release date… get real… they are out there now!- by WraithLMC

how to download guyver 2 movie(12:47am EST Mon May 16 2005)is there anything that u can do 2 help me in this situation?i search all over malaysia for the guyver2 movie all my life but i can't find it….so please help me 2 released the tension on me….p/s if u can get it for free i would love 2….thank you very much….bye that all… - by shahrul nizam

sound nice(7:18pm EST Mon Aug 01 2005)redds - by sdefr

sexflim manwithman(9:20am EST Wed Oct 19 2005)sssss - by rex

The guyer(7:34pm EST Sun Feb 05 2006)WHere can I get the first part of this cool movie?? It is also called MUTRONICS. If someone wants I've got THE GUYVER 2 and anime version. Conntact me: ssj2pilip@tlen.pl - by PiliP